Parking enforcement on a busy Hyndburn road will only happen when officers have back-up from police and colleagues, council bosses say.
Lancashire County Council (LCC) claim they have a ‘duty to consider officers’ safety’ and will only visit Union Road in Oswaldtwistle with support due to past ‘problems’.
But businessmen and councillors have described their position as ‘lame, and strange’.
Graham Bennett, of Bennett & Co Accountants on Union Road, said the lack of enforcement is hurting local businesses.
Responding to LCC’s statement, he said: “That’s rubbish. I think it’s a lame excuse. I spoke with a traffic warden in Accrington and they said they can’t go beyond Paxton Street any more. It’s out of order.
“We all pay our rates. I don’t think we’ve seen a traffic warden on Union Road for 18 months. I’ve emailed Lancashire Parking and they’ve reviewed it and felt they had adequate supervision. Well if nothing is adequate then it’s a poor do.
“There are cars out there for hours in a one-hour parking zone. My clients have to park way over on Rhyddings Street.
“I had a talk with a few of the owners and they shrugged their shoulders and walked off. The people doing it are just ignoring the signs and don’t give a monkeys. It’s just wrong and something needs doing about it. It’s restricting trade.”
Oswaldtwistle county councillor Peter Britcliffe questioned LCC’s attitude.
He said: “I find this a strange response and I would like to see a fuller explanation. It almost seems like they are blaming the motorists for behaving badly, when in fact it is their job to bring in enforcement to prevent such behaviour.”
He claims the parking problem is having a knock-on effect around the town.
Speaking at a recent area forum meeting, he said: “People are parking all day on Union Road and they are forcing people onto the side streets. It should be an hour or two hours. I’ve contacted Lancashire Parking Services who tell me they are enforcing but the story is that they don’t go past Paxton Street in Accrington.
“You think about the Civic Theatre and the double lines that there are on some streets but parking enforcement ends at 6pm at night. What’s the point of that? Perhaps there are healthy pickings in Accrington but that shouldn’t mean they should not be looking at other areas.”
Peter Bell, regulation and enforcement manager for LCC, said their top priority for parking enforcement is to address problem parking which has the greatest potential to cause safety issues and obstruct traffic flow.
He added: “As such, most of the issues we face in east Lancashire are focused in the busiest places such as Accrington, Burnley and Nelson town centres.
“At the same time, we do enforce parking restrictions in other areas as appropriate, including on Union Road.
“The pressures on parking in Union Road reflect those in many areas of the county and recent enforcement has resulted in only low numbers of penalty charge notices being issued.
“We have a duty to consider officers’ safety and while they have not been ordered to avoid enforcing particular areas, there are some locations we ask them to visit only when accompanied by a colleague, or police officer, due to problems which have arisen in the past.”
